


we've got time on our side

by aceofdiamonds



Series: actors au [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Actors AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 05:58:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3108632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofdiamonds/pseuds/aceofdiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I miss you,” Nico says bluntly over the top of whatever Percy is saying now. </p><p>Nico wants to ask if he ever had to spend time apart when he was with Annabeth but he finds he can’t quite get the words out. “Two more weeks?” he offers, accidentally gets bright red syrup all over his hand when he leans his cheek on his palm without thinking. </p><p>percy and nico coping with spending so much time apart</p>
            </blockquote>





	we've got time on our side

**Author's Note:**

> a sequel to the actors au i did a few months ago. title comes from unpredictable by 5 seconds of summer

 

“I died today,” Nico says, kicking at the legs of the chair in front of him. It wobbles precariously on its front two legs before dropping back to the floor with a thud.

“How’d it go?”

“Alright. I died three times.”

Percy snorts. “I’m going to write in my contract that my next film needs a death scene, they sound so fun.”

Nico’s was more a slow, draining, gunshot wound type of death that involved a lot of groaning and lying around alone in a drafty parking lot, the cameras seeming far away. He knows that’s not the type of death Percy wants to film; he’ll want car chases and explosions and whispered final confessions. “I have corn syrup in my mouth,” he says, trying not to wipe too much away when he touches his lip. Make-up artists can be mean sometimes as they strive for perfection. “You wouldn’t like the taste.”

“Mm. Good point. I’ll just have to drown or something then. No blood, see.” Percy sounds so close on the phone, his voice muffled slightly like he’s holding the phone right up to his mouth. Nico presses his closer.

It’s been three weeks since he saw him last, not counting Skype sessions, which Nico _doesn’t_ count because he can’t touch Percy and the sound is scratchy and not good and what’s the point if he can't _touch_. Given that they only actually got together four months ago, he misses him. They haven’t had all the time yet to get to know the other so well they can tell what this sigh means or what that quirk of the mouth means from thousands of miles. Okay, hundreds. They’re both still in the States at least.

“I miss you,” Nico says bluntly over the top of whatever Percy is saying now.

Percy is quiet for a moment, his breathing regular in Nico’s ear. “Acting’s great, I love it,” he says, “but right now I fucking hate it.”

Nico wants to ask if he ever had to spend time apart when he was with Annabeth but he finds he can’t quite get the words out. “Two more weeks?” he offers, accidentally gets bright red syrup all over his hand when he leans his cheek on his palm without thinking.

“And then next month I’m doing press junkets for _Young_.”

“Fuck. I want --” he bites back everything he wants with a groan.

Percy sounds resigned when he says, “I know, Nico,” and it’s almost comforting to know Nico’s not the only one doing all the missing. It’s still hard to believe sometimes that this relationship isn’t one-sided.

Jamie from make-up is waving over at him, gesturing with her brush which Nico is taking to mean _please come here right now_ because that’s what every hand movement means. “Ugh. I’ve got to go. I’ll text you later?”

“I’ll send you a couple of pics,” Percy says, voice low and sly. “If you know what I mean.”

“Percy, I always know what you mean.” He’s not blushing. It’s the fake blood. “Looking forward to it.”

Percy whistles. “Yeah you are. See you, di Angelo.”

  
  


.

  
  


Later, when the corn syrup has been washed away and Nico is out of his character’s mind, he stretches out on his bed in his trailer and fumbles in his pocket for his phone. He thumbs into his messages, finds that Percy has kept his promise of pictures, there’s three, no four, that make Nico’s tongue feel heavy in his mouth, his hand tight on the comforter. Pushing off his jeans he closes his eyes and remembers the feel of Percy’s hand on his cock, his mouth wet on his neck, his chest, and the strangled sort of laugh he makes sometimes when he comes.

The phone slips in his sweaty palm, falling on his stomach, but Nico can cope without it, his hand moving fast to memories of a morning two weeks ago, the day he left to come here. There had been a bruise on Percy’s arm, just at the crook of his elbow, and when Nico’s finger had pressed into it he had hissed and folded his legs around Nico’s waist, holding on tight. Nico twists his fist, a gasp falling out of his mouth, and when he slides his hand down down down he comes suddenly with a moan and a whoosh of breath that leaves him panting.

Once he’s cleaned himself up he picks up his phone again and pulls himself into a sitting position, resting against the wall behind his bed. He flips the camera to the front, tilting his head back a little and dropping his hand to his crotch. His skin is flushed all the way down his torso, hair sticking to his forehead slightly, and the smirk bending his lips tells Percy everything.

  
  


.

  
  


When Nico dropped out of high school to pursue acting no one ever told him that although being successful is incredible and amazing and every other adjective like that it means his personal life is seriously screwed up. Those mentors on film sets that had left Nico starry eyed with their tips and tales had forgotten to pass on advice on how to cope with being a thousand miles away from your boyfriend on New Years Eve which is turning out to be worse than Nico imagined.

So he’s here in New York and Hazel and Frank are here and it’s great, really, it is, but Percy is down in Florida because this film he’s working on at the moment is apparently taking every bit of him it can grab. The thing is Nico can’t even be that upset because this is the one Percy has been waiting for, the one putting him in the antagonist's seat, giving him the chance to be dark and mean and twisted for the first time instead of always been the hero, the one the audience is rooting for. Nico can be sad that he’s not getting to spend tonight with Percy but on the other hand he’s really fucking happy for him for getting to do this.

“You can turn it over if you want, you know,” Hazel says from the other end of the couch when Nico groans at the cheering on the TV. “There’s that other countdown on Channel Two.”

“That one’s not as good,” Frank replies, sticking his tongue out when Nico drops his head back onto the arm of the couch and twists his neck to look at him. Even from upside down there’s something comforting about Frank’s smile, about Frank in general, really. Nico’s really happy he has him for a brother in law but god, his taste in TV really sucks. “Sorry, dude.”

“It’s tradition, isn’t it,” Nico says, attempting some sort of shrug which is harder than it looks in this position. “Keep it on, Frank, don’t listen to my complaining.”

“You really are  an awful guest,” Hazel laughs, her hand warm on Nico’s leg. Leela had been put to bed an hour or so ago, too young to understand the drunken revelry and crying that comes with midnight at this time of year. Hazel looks exhausted but she’s barely stopped smiling since Nico got here two days ago. “If you weren’t moping over your boyfriend I would kick you out.”

“You would never do that, sis,” he says, refusing to address the moping comment, anyway, it’s not like it isn’t true. “I’m your live-in babysitter.”

“You’re my stupidly famous brother who hasn’t visited me in too long and is now feeling guilty about it,” Hazel replies, but her hand is still on his leg, squeezing, and he knows she doesn’t mean it.

“I’ve been busy!” he tries anyway.

“I know you have, Nico, and I’m sorry Percy isn’t here with you tonight, I wish you could be happy.”

And if that doesn’t make him feel like he’s swimming in guilt --”I’m happy here with you guys, honestly,” he says, and he really is. He feels at home here in their little flat in Brooklyn with the dog in the corner and the baby along the hall, that obnoxious Dick Clark on the TV shouting out into the room. This is his family and what’s more important than that.

  
  


.

  
  


Percy calls just after midnight. “Happy New Year, Nico!”

“Happy New Year, Percy,” Nico replies, leaning against the wall of the guest bedroom and lifting a hand to feel the smile that has to be the biggest of the year so far. “How’s it going?”

“Grover made some sort of punch,” Percy says happily. He sounds tipsy, now Nico knows to listen for it, and then he giggles, low into the phone. “I think he’s spiked it.”

“Sounds like it,” Nico agrees. “How much have you had?”

“A lot,” Percy says, laughing. “Hey, Nico, I miss you.”

And that’s all they seem to be saying to each other lately. Nico bites at his lip, thinks of all the optimism sitting in the room three along from this. “Yeah, I miss you too."

“I’ll see you soon?”

They had talked about Nico flying down for the weekend some time in February but he wants to go now. He doesn’t have anything scheduled for a couple of weeks, he can do it. “Sure. Really soon.”

Percy asks about Hazel and Frank and Leela and tells Nico about the oranges down in Florida which _really do live up to the legend, di Angelo, I swear_ , and Nico laughs and talks about the radio interview he did last week where he almost let slip that he wakes up with Percy Jackson, object of affection of millions, a lot of mornings and that even when they both have awful morning breath he kisses Nico like maybe he’s the most important thing in his life. He can hear the smile in Percy’s voice when he says that he loves those mornings and that’s he’s glad he didn’t tell the DJ that because then he would turn very very red for an extended period of time and smile a whole lot and he has a movie to shoot so that would be inconvenient.

There’s a sudden influx of shouting in Percy’s end, making Nico’s seem enclosed, too quiet. “Shit, I’m so sorry, Nico, I have to go, see you soon, okay? Go drink something -- I have that beer you like at home, if you want -- fuck off, Grover, I’m coming.”

Nico listens to the buzzing that follows before a silence clips over it. When he pushes the phone back into his pocket he catches himself in the mirror above the bed, his grin three sizes too big.

“Percy sends his love,” he says when he returns to the living room. Frank and Hazel are doing some sort of jive slash waltz around the coffee table, repeatedly missing the bottle of wine by an inch every time they flail too widely. Nico pours himself a glass, thinks of the way Percy said _home_ when he mentioned the beer, like it was something they shared, and ducks out of the way when Hazel’s hand tries to squeeze his cheek.

“We like Percy, don’t we, Frank?” she says, swaying on the spot to the jazz on the TV. Nico notes that Frank has given in and changed the channel now the ball has dropped. “We think he’s good for you.”

“He is,” Nico agrees. “I’m good for him, too.”

“You’re good here,” Frank says in a burst of New Year sentimentality.

“Come dance with us, o brother of mine.”

Nico sits down his glass and steps into the circle, pressing a kiss to Hazel’s cheek. “Love you.”

"I love you too, but you have to come visit more, okay?"

He promises.

 

.

  
  
  


“Any embarrassing stories from set?” an interviewer asks one afternoon halfway through January.

Nico thinks for a moment. “There was karaoke one time,” he says, laughing a little when the interviewer all but claps her hands. Karaoke’s the magic word everywhere. “Yeah. I wasn’t the best.”

“What did you sing?”

“ _You Give Love a Bad Name_ ,” and then he winces at the sound that comes from the interviewer. “It’s a classic,” he argues, “and anyway I wanted _Living On a Prayer_ but Percy insisted.”

They leap on this. “Percy Jackson?” and really, who else?

“The one and only.” He drops his elbow onto the arm of the spindly chair he’s balancing on. “Don’t listen to what he says, he can’t sing either.”

“Are you close then, you and Percy?”

This is one of his favourite parts of interviews. He stretches his legs out in front of him, leans back in his chair so far it almost tips, and bends his mouth into a smirk. “We’re alright.”

  
  


.

  
  


Nico wakes to a pounding on his door. He turns his head on the pillow and listens for a few seconds, hoping whoever it is will go away.

The knocking increases.

Groaning, he stumbles out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants he finds on the floor. He glances at his watch as he crosses the living room, swearing when he sees it’s past noon. He’s almost one hundred percent sure he doesn’t have anything to do today but he’s forgotten in the past and his agent isn’t the most forgiving.

“I’m sorry,” he exclaims when he pulls open the door. “I overslept, what is -- Percy?”

“Forgotten who I am already?” Percy grins. “It’s been a while, I know.”

“Christ, Perc,” Nico says, breaking into a laugh. He reaches out and grabs a handful of Percy’s t-shirt, pulling him in and slotting their mouths together. This kiss is one Nico has been holding onto for weeks now, often dramatically wondering if he’ll ever get to do it again at the way things seemed to be working out for them. He has Percy here now, right outside his door, and he’s holding Nico’s waist, his grip tight, and his mouth is working furiously with Nico’s, pouring everything into this. Nico bites at Percy’s lip, listens for the gasp that he knows will follow, and then falls back against the door jamb, his legs bracketing Percy’s.

Percy pulls away after a few more minutes, his head dropping to Nico’s shoulder. Nico runs his hand over his back, pulling him closer. He feels Percy press a kiss to his bare shoulder and leans into the press of Percy’s fingers at the small of his back, round to his hips. He shifts, seeking even more contact.

“Surprise,” Percy says eventually. There’s a slight croak in his voice that wasn’t there when he left. Nico tries to work everything out in his head and comes up with nothing.

“I thought you weren’t finished until the end of February?” he manages after another few moments of silence. They should probably move into his apartment and away from the hallway, he guesses, but he finds he doesn’t really want to move. “How are you here?”

Percy raises his head. “Finished early.”

“And you didn’t tell me, you dick, what if I’d been out?”

One side of Percy’s mouth quirks up. “You’re underestimating how much I know you, Nico. When was the last time you left your bed?”

And Nico could say something witty or whatever to that but instead he leans in and kisses him again, moaning when Percy’s hands move to the waistband of his sweats. He’s been getting by with glitchy Skype sex and dick pics for he doesn’t know how long now, can anyone blame him for being desperate for this. He shifts his hips against Percy’s, swallowing his groan. “Come inside,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to Percy’s jaw right where his stubble is thickest. “Come to bed, Percy.”

Percy’s hand skitters across Nico’s stomach. “Fuck, Nico, please, move.”

Nico is only happy to oblige, tugging Percy over the threshold and kicking the door shut behind them.

  
  


.

  
  


They spend hours in Nico’s bed, the duvet pushed to the floor, the sheet rumpled around them as they relearn the feel of each other’s bodies. Nico remembers the spot on the inside of Percy’s thigh that makes him keen and cant his hips, whimpers leaking into the air when Nico bites gently before guiding his mouth onto his cock. His hands press at Percy’s hips as he sucks on the head, his tongue hot and wet as he draws noises from Percy that haven’t been the same through phones, no matter how advanced they may be.

“You should’ve heard me, Nico,” Percy says, rolling them over to straddle Nico. He rolls his hips, his head falling back. Nico leans up to kiss his neck, down to his chest, and back again, sealing their lips together. It’s intense, after so much time apart, and Nico gives himself over to it, drowning in the feel of Percy’s hands on him, his cock rubbing against his own, amazed he’s lasted this long. He worries Percy’s bottom lip between his teeth, pulling at it gently, coaxes the rest of the sentence from him. “I talked about you all the time, think Grover -- fuck, Nico, oh -- Grover was gonna kill me.”

“What were you saying?” Nico breathes in his ear, smiling against Percy’s cheek when his breath stutters. “Did you tell him about this? About the pictures and the way you would touch yourself through the screen for me? That you were dying for me to fuck you? Is that what you told him, Percy?”

Percy’s hand reaches down between them, folding both their hands around their cocks, jerking his wrist and pulling Nico’s to do the same. Without lube the friction drags, too slow, too hard, but Nico leans into it, quickens the pace. Percy’s cock curves in his hand and fuck if he hasn’t missed this so much it hurt. He wants -- he wants everything.

“I told him,” Percy continues after a bit. Nico swears against his mouth, twists his wrist to make Percy gasp and forget himself for a moment. “I told him you watch my movies when you’re alone and jerk off to the scenes with girls, wishing it was you there with me, that you want everyone to see us fucking. Nico, I told everyone about the way you suck me off, your face so innocent with my cock in your mouth, so eager, so fucking lovely --” he breaks off, kisses Nico deeply. “Fuck, I don’t want -- Nico, I don’t wanna be away for that long again, don’t you do either, okay, and Christ, what if -- move your hand, man, here, this way -- and -- _shit_.”

Nico comes first, bending into Percy’s chest and resting his head there as he coats Percy’s hand. He watches his own continue to move, quicker and quicker, and Percy arches his back and makes such a delicious noise, not quite more than a gasp but laced with something that makes Nico wish he had held off longer if only so he could come now, swallowing that gasp down. He feels something sharp at his waist, looks down to see Percy’s finger curl, breaking the skin. Percy goes to move his hand away, looks to be on the verge of apology even as Nico’s hand moves quicker, bringing him closer, and when Nico shakes his head and holds Percy’s hand to the indents, the tiny flecks of blood, Percy falls over the edge, his eyes closing as it hits him.

They fold into a more horizontal position, Nico curled on his side, his arm flung over Percy’s chest. He closes his eyes, content.

  
  


.

  
  


It’s dark when he wakes up again. He wriggles further into Percy’s space, tilting his head to see that Percy is awake.

“Hi.”

“Hi, you awake?”

Nico huffs a quiet laugh. “I am.”

“Good. I’m glad I’m here.” He says this like it’s something much more important than how it sounds and Nico doesn’t know what to do with that but he reaches out and takes the words, cradling the _glad_ and _here_ against his chest.

“We knew it would be like this,” Nico says softly. “The whole actors dating thing. We knew it would be hard.”

“It always is,” Percy agrees, tracing a line down Nico’s shoulder. “But it’s worth it, right?”

“I would say so.”

“I would say so, wow, very enthusiastic.”

“What do you want me to say? The sex is really great so I’m okay with not seeing you for weeks and weeks.”

“Yeah, that is what I want to hear. Also, you forgot to mention the phone sex. I really thought that was a bonus out of the whole situation, I think we’ve become pros at it.”

Nico recalls the first couple of attempts when neither had been quite sure what to say and had ended up talking about the weather. The third time was really when they had pushed past the _what are you wearing_ s and gotten down to the what they wanted to do with each other, hurriedly searching for the speaker button so they could drop the phone to the bed beside them and make use of both their hands. One time Percy had been so detailed in his description of what he wanted to do with Nico’s hands that Nico had dropped the phone down and under the bed. Yeah, that had been a case of practice makes almost perfect.

It still doesn’t come close to the real thing, though, that’s important to remember. Nico expands on that point by pushing himself up onto one elbow and ducking down to kiss Percy, his hand trailing down his torso and resting at his hip. Here he can see the way Percy’s body reacts to him, can feel the rumbles of pleasure in his chest when he splays his hand there, and when he pulls away Percy can curve a hand at his neck and drag him straight back in. Yeah. Technology is a godsend when it comes to coping hundreds of miles apart but nothing is comparable to this.

“We could do something today,” Nico suggests, moving to allow Percy to continue his mapping of Nico’s neck. He’s lucky he doesn’t have anything planned for the coming days, not just because now he can spend time with Percy, but because his PR will kill him if she sees the bruises littering his skin. “Wanna go to Central Park or something?”

“That sounds great, Nico, really it does, but later, okay. I’m not finished here yet.”

Nico smiles at the ceiling. There’s something warm inside him that he hopes his ribs will protect. It pulses and glows, radiating warmth. Nico focuses on it, closes his eyes as it washes over him. Yeah, Nico isn’t finished here, either.

 

 


End file.
